


The Ripple Effect

by Omgwow



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Robin: Son of Batman (Comics), Superman/Batman (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Anxiety, Depressed Dick Grayson, Depression, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson in a wheelchair, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Other, Panic Attacks, Paralysis, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Wheelchairs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2020-03-04 22:25:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18821977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omgwow/pseuds/Omgwow
Summary: The night the Flying Graysons fell to their deaths, Dick Grayson fell with them. He survived, but became paralysed and has to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. This is an exploration of how that would have changed the continuity. And also some fluff. And a garden variety of other random stuff.





	1. The Ripple Effect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I was a little unhappy with the development and plot of this fic, so I'm in the process of re-writing it!  
> In this chapter: Dick is 8

Chapter 1 

 

This was a day Dick was bound to never forget. It was going to be his first time performing with his parents on stage, without a net! He had only been allowed to perform stunts at a lower level with a net, but today, his parents were going to let him join them on stage!

His whole body was jittering as he tried to control his nervous excitement. He was so thrilled he thought he might burst into flames.

 

“Ready little bird?” Tati asked while Mami gave him an encouraging smile.

Dick nodded in anticipation for his turn to join his parents out on the trapeze. Oh, how wonderful the trapeze was. It made him feel like he could fly. Every time up there, he would soar like an eagle as his audiences looked on in awe. It was a feeling that was completely, totally, unreplaceable and breath taking.

As the lights dimmed, the applause rang out. The cheers for the Flying Graysons were loud and happy, and only served to make Dick even more eager to jump out there and join his parents.

Standing on the platform, he took a deep breath in and waited for his cue.

Tati released Mami’s hands, hooking his legs around her and swinging forward while she hung off the metal bar. He smiled broadly at Dick, stretching his arms toward the boy as he swung towards the platform. 

There's the cue. 

Pushing away the butterflies in his stomach, he sprinted forward and jumped, reaching out for his Tati's hands, who caught him easily. 

His Tati gave him a bright smile and gave Dick the signal to proceed to the next sequence when 

_SNAP!_

Down Down Down the three of them went. At the very last moment, John Grayson wrapped his strong arms around his son, using his body to break the fall in an attempt to save his son. 

 

Dick’s back burned up in pain as he went into shock. Nonononononono this was a nightmare; Dick closed his eyes tightly. Mami said that if you had a nightmare you should close your eyes and tell yourself it was not real, then you would wake up and everything would be okay.

3

2

1

Opening his eyes and turning to look around, all he saw was blood, blood everywhere. Why was there so much blood pooling under Mami’s head. NONONONONO THIS ISN’T REAL. Squeezing his eyes shut again, he told himself that this was not real, and opened his eyes. No! Why didn’t it work! It should have worked! Mami never lies. This is just a nightmare and I need to wake up.

Wake up, Mami. Wake up, Tati. Please.

No! Don’t touch me!

Wake up, Mami. Wake up, Tati. Please.

No…. please…..

_Beep… Beep… Beep…_

 

Blinking his surroundings into focus, he saw a female the shape of his Mami standing beside him. She moved forward and hugged him. Hugging her back just as tightly, Dick started crying.

“Mami! I had a really bad nightmare, we fell from the trapeze, and you died, and Tati died, and there was blood everywhere, and it was so scary, and I tried and tried to wake up but I couldn’t…” Dick sobbed out into the warm embrace of his Mami.

“Oh, Richard…”

Wait a minute. This wasn’t Mami’s voice.

Pushing the woman away and wiping his tears from his face, Dick questioned “You’re not my Mami! Where’s my Mami… I want my Mami… I want Tati… Mami… Tati…”

 

“Richard, I’m so sorry…” not Mami began.

“No NO NO I don’t want to hear it” Dick cried out desperately as he covered his ears.

“Richard, you’re still in shock. Please calm down.” not Mami tried again.

“No I don’t want to listen to you. I want my Mami and Tati… I want them.” Dick sobbed out as he tried to get off the bed to find his parents. Something’s wrong. Something’s very very wrong. But Dick didn’t know what was wrong.

 

“Richard I’m so sorry, but you really shouldn’t move” Not mami said as she gently pushed him back down the bed.

Move? That’s what was wrong with him.

“Why can’t I move my legs? WHY CAN’T I FEEL ANYTHING BELOW HERE!” Dick began shouting as he slowly tried to comprehend what was wrong. EVERYTHING WAS WRONG!

This wasn’t how the day was supposed to go…

They were going to perform, and have a nice dinner together, and Mami was going to bring him shopping tomorrow with the money Bruce Wayne donated… Mami… Tati…

 

_Beep… Beep… Beep…_

“Hey kiddo, you awake? Should I get the doctor?” A voice asked.

Dick didn’t want to open his eyes or respond. This person was not his mami or tati. Tati taught him about Stranger Danger. He shouldn’t be responding to this person he didn’t even know. Tati… Mami… I know what they’re trying to tell me. It’s not true right, please tell me it’s not true…

I miss you both already…

 

“Kid?” Dick still refused to respond to the voice

“I know you’re awake, your breathing changed. Should I get the doctor for you?” the voice asked again.

Dick ignored it, still stuck in his own thoughts.

.

.

“Hey Richard, how are you feeling?” not Mami’s voice asked. “Richard?” the other voice asked.

“Bruce, I think you should leave the room for a moment.” Not Mami said. There was the sound of a door closing, before not Mami spoke “Hi Richard, I’ve asked Bruce to leave, so you can open your eyes now. We started off on the wrong foot just now. My name is Dr Leslie, but you can just call me Leslie, it makes me sound younger than I am.”

At that, Dick smiled a little, finally opening his eyes to look at Dr Leslie.

“They are dead, aren’t they,” Dick asked, straight to the point.

The smile on Dr Leslie’s face froze, and that told Dick everything he needed to know.

“Well, yes. I’m very sorry for your loss” Dr Leslie said as Dick continued to look at her emotionlessly.

 

“Oh.”

 

This was bad. The boy was sharper than they anticipated him to be. He was also cycling through grief so quickly that Leslie didn’t know what to do.

 

“There’s another thing, Richard.”

“Dick”

“I’m sorry?”

“Call me Dick. My parents only called me Richard when I was in trouble.”

“Oh right, Dick. I can tell that you’re a very smart and straightforward boy, I don’t think you’d appreciate me beating about the bush. Well, you see, during your fall, you broke your spine. I’m sorry, but you’ve been paralysed. You won’t be able to walk again, and there will be many things that you’ll have to learn to adapt to. But don’t worry, people who are paralysed can still do many things.”

“But they won’t ever be able to fly.”

“Fly?”

“Perform acrobatic tricks on the trapeze. I call it flying cos that’s what it feels like.”

“Oh – well, technology in the field is constantly improving, so maybe one day you can get back on the trapeze again.”

“I should have died with them. Why did you save me?”

“Dick – your parents would want you to be alive, never forget that.”

“Who was the man just now?”

“His name is Bruce Wayne. He was the one who realised you were still breathing and called the ambulance to save you.” Leslie replied as she duly noted that the boy had been changing topics every time it became sensitive. He was bouncing between acceptance and denial, and Leslie didn’t know what was worse. While he knew all the important information now, he was accepting everything too quickly and calmly. It wasn’t normal.

“Oh.”

“Would you like to meet him, Dick? He’s going to be taking you in as his ward. Since your parents are both - ” Leslie paused, not wanting to say the word out.

“Oh. Okay.”

 

Dick didn’t really want to meet Bruce. It didn’t matter anyway.

He wasn’t going to be here for long.

 

Little did he know about the ripple he had set in motion in his universe.


	2. Barbara Gordon

Chapter 2

 

Barbara looked at the little boy under the pile of tubes that connected him to the machines. Her heart went out to him. Her papa had told her the story of the little boy. She was in the hospital today because of him. Papa had some work to do at the hospital and couldn't find an emergency nanny for her in time, so he took her along to the hospital. On the ride here, her papa had explained to her that the boy had just lost both his parents in an accident and was very upset and hurt. He had also ended up paralysed.

 

"What does pa- paralised mean, papa?" 9-year-old Barbara asked.

 

"Well honey, when someone becomes paralysed, they can't feel a certain area of their body. In Richard's case, he can no longer feel anything below his chest." Jim replied, stealing a glance at his precious bundle before turning back to the road.

 

"Below his chest? So he can't feel his tummy? Or his legs?" Barbara asked innocently.

 

"Yes, that is correct, dear"

 

"How will he know if he's hungry then? If his tummy doesn't tell him that he is?"

 

"His organs still work dear. His stomach will still tell him if he's hungry, even though the stomach is below his chest," Jim replied, trying to simplify his explanation as much as possible.

 

"Oh. Okay." Barbara replied, a look of confusion plastered on her face as she repeated what her papa told her.

 

"Wait, papa, if he can't feel his legs, can he still move them?" Barbara asked with urgency.

 

Jim sighed, pausing before giving his daughter a reply "He can't move them, Barbara. It's most likely that he never will again."

 

"But if he can't move them, how will he walk? Or run? Or climb the stairs?"

 

"He'll have to use a wheelchair Barbs. Do you know what a wheelchair is?" Jim responded as he slowed to a stop at the junction.

 

"Yes. A wheelchair is a chair that has wheels so that a person who has a disability can get around. Does that mean that being paralised means that Richard has a disability?" Barbara asked curiously.

 

"Yes, in a sense. He can no longer walk or jump as you do, Barbara. He will need to learn how to get around in a wheelchair."

 

"But why is he paralised, papa?"

 

"He fell down from a really really high place and injured his back. His spine broke."

 

"Broke? Like how my arm broke last year when I fell down from a tree?"

 

"Yes, like how you broke your arm, but instead of the bones in your arm, he broke his spine"

 

"Why can't the doctors fix him like they fixed my arm?"

 

Jim paused for a moment as he tried to figure out how to explain the concept to his sunshine "Well you see, our spine has a lot of nerves that control our body and helps transfer the message from our brains to move our legs and feel pain and itches. But when you break your spine, the doctors can't put it back together like they can with an arm. It's difficult, and quite near impossible, if I say so myself." Jim explained.

 

"Okay. Where is he going to stay if both his parents are gone and he can't walk anymore, papa?"

 

"Mr Wayne has been nice enough to offer to take him as his own ward. Once Richard is released from the hospital, he will move in with Mr Wayne. But we suspect foul play in the accident that caused this to happen. Do you remember what foul play is, Barbs?"

 

"Yes, papa. You’ve told me many times what foul play is. It’s when someone does something illegal, causing the death of another. Does that mean someone murdered Richard’s parents!" Barbara asked, her voice going higher to express her shock.

 

"That's right, honey. That's why papa has to go down to the hospital for a little while to get to the bottom of this." Jim replied, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel.

 

"I hope you find the bad man who did this, papa," Barbara said, clearly upset. Losing her mama was hard enough. She couldn't imagine what she would do if she lost mama, papa and the use of her legs all at once. She was determined to make sure the boy knew that he wasn't alone when he woke up.

 

 

 

 

The machines were beeping and tubes were all over the boy, who was engulfed by the hospital bed. Barbara shivered. The scene reminded her of when Papa had driven her to the hospital on a stormy Sunday night when she was 5. Her mama was also hooked up to many machines and had many tubes in her body before she passed away. The boy in the bed was awake though, so that was good. That meant he wasn't dying. His eyes were red as he looked up at her

 

"You're in the wrong room"

 

"No, I'm not. You're Richard John Grayson, right?" Barbara asked, blinking her eyes at him. The boy sniffled a little before he nodded.

 

"I'm Barbara Gordon. My papa is Commissioner Gordon. He's the one outside helping you."

 

"Th-thank you. May I- may I speak to the commissioner?"

 

"I can ask for you! But you might have to wait for a while. He's very angry and probably scolding people outside now." Barbara offered with a smile.

 

"Why are you here?" Richard asked, looking at her, his face blank of any emotions. Barbara thought that such a look did not belong on such a good looking face.

 

"I wanted to keep you company! So that you're not alone," Barbara replied cheerfully.

 

"Thank you, but I don't need your company. I just want to be left alone"

 

"When my mama died, all I wanted was company, I thought you might have wanted the same thing. But if you're sure, I can leave?"

 

"I don't know. I don't know what I want. They're dead. They're dead and I shouldn't be alive. I just want my mami and tati. But they're dead and they're not coming back." The boy said as he began crying again. Barbara quickly made her way to stand beside his bed.

Gently, she reached out to pat him on the back as he continued sobbing. Slowly, he reigned in his emotions and the sobs turned into hitches as he tried to take in deep breathes.

 

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I would do if my papa died too" Barbara offered as a form of condolence.

 

"Th-thank you. You don't have to do this" the boy said.

 

"I want to. You have to accept my awkward attempts at consoling you and cry if you still want to speak to my papa" Barbara threatened. She knew crying was a good way to release a person's sadness. She had done it a lot the week her mama passed away. She didn't like seeing Richard sad. So she was going to make him cry until he didn't want to cry anymore and cry all the sadness away.

 

The boy huffed a burst of laughter while tears and snot ran down his face "Dick"

 

"That's not something you should call someone who is helping you"

 

"No. I mean, call me Dick. It's what my parents called me"

 

"Oh. Okay. Hi Dick."

 

"Do you have a nickname? Barbara is a very long name to say" Dick said, looking at her from the bed.

 

"I don't, but my papa likes to call be Barbs, but I don't like Barbs, it sounds like barb wires"

 

Dick laughed a little and an idea struck him "How about Babs?"

 

"Babs? Huh. Okay. Babs then. Nice to meet you, Dick."

 

“Nice to meet you too, Babs.”

 

The two smiled at each other, and unbeknownst to the two, the seeds of a beautiful friendship were planted in that very moment.

 

There was a knock on the door and Commissioner Jim appeared.

 

“Hi, Richard, I’m commissioner Gordon. I heard Bruce tell me you think someone intentionally caused the ropes to snap?”

-


	3. A means to no end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Suicide Attempt
> 
> Set 6 days after the previous chapter.

Chapter 3 

They had transferred Dick into a rehabilitation centre so that he could learn how to adapt to his body now and “enhance his quality of life”. Dick didn’t feel like there was a life to speak of. In fact, he didn’t feel like he was alive at all. He felt very detached from this reality, so he mostly just did what people told him to do. He would eat when they gave him food, and he would sit still as they showered him.

 

His physiatrist, some dude named Nick, has been trying to teach him how to transfer into and out of a wheelchair, because that was his life now. But Dick didn’t really want to learn how to transfer. In fact, seeing the wheelchair made him blanch. Learning and mastering transferring himself would only solidify this reality. Dick wondered, if he tried hard enough, maybe he could move his toes. If he kept staring and thinking, he might be able to move his legs. And so he stared and stared – and his toes moved. In fact, his whole left leg started moving. But it hurt him so badly that he couldn’t even be happy about it.

 

“Oh my – Nurse Joey! Get some Dantrolene sodium and Acetaminophen here! He’s having some muscle spasticity!” Nick shouted, having been trying to coach Dick into trying how to transfer. Responding quickly while waiting for the muscle relaxant and anti-pain medication, he began slowly stretching the spasming limb while tears sprang out of Dick’s eyes. He knew that this was painful for Dick, but it would be worse if he didn’t stretch it for Dick now.

 

Nurse Joey rushed over with the sodium solution in a syringe and injected it directly into Dick’s limb while Nick continued stretching the leg out slowly as the muscles danced around while the leg trembled involuntarily. They had both heard about what happened to the boy, and they were both very upset. In fact, it was always sad when people had to come in for rehab due to various reasons.

 

Popping open the pill bottle for acetaminophen, she took out 1 pill.

“Here, take this. It’ll help with the pain.” She offered.

Dick nodded at her through his red rimmed eyes and ate it as though it was a lifesaver.

 

“Joey! Come over here and help me with this!” A voice shouted from somewhere across the room.

“Coming! You okay here Nick?” Joey asked. Receiving confirmation that she was not needed anymore; she ran over to the other side.

 

“Okay Dick, I think we’ll stop here for today. You have a nice rest.” Nick said after he finished massaging and stretching Dick’s leg for him. Dick nodded and realised that he was beginning to get drowsy. The last thing he remembered was Nick covering him with a blanket as he dozed off.

 

_Loud and happy cheers rang through the air as Dick stood atop the platform, ready to join his parents for their grand finale, where Dick was going to perform without a net for the first time._

_His Tati swung forward and gave him the cue. Taking a deep breath, Dick sprinted off the platform and into his Tati’s safe hands. The happy family swung on the trapeze for a while, before his Tati gave him the cue to proceed to the next sequence._

_SNAP_

_Down down down the 3 of them went. At the last moment, his Tati gave Dick a hug, before the sound of bodies slapping across the sandy floor reverberated throughout the circus tent._

Dick woke up with a gasp, as tears ran freely down his face. This was a nightmare that he still couldn’t wake up from. Why… why was he still alive.

 

Looking to his left, he realised that Nurse Joey had left the bottle of acetaminophen on the side table, just slightly out of his reach.

 

If one pill could make me fall asleep, maybe taking all of them at once could make me sleep forever…

 

With this new thought in mind, he used what Nick taught him to get into a seating position on the bed. It was weird learning how to sit up now that his legs and abs didn’t work anymore.

 

Grabbing the handrail at the side of his bed, he pulled himself into a sideways position. Then, he used both hands to push himself up, his left hand quickly shooting out to behind his back so that he didn’t fall back onto the bed. Using his free hand, he scooped both his dead legs together and brought them to his chest. Using his chin to hold his left leg in place, he used his right hand to swing his right leg to the side of the bed. Then, he used his right hand to swing his left leg over as well. Using both hands, he pushed himself against the bed so that his butt could move to face the right direction. Now that he was at the side of the bed, he could reach out to grab the bottle of pills.

 

Downing all of it in 1 go, he repeated the steps in backwards order to get himself back into bed. No more nightmares this time… Mami, Tati, I’m sorry. But I’m really tired and I just want to sleep forever.

_Beep… Beep… Beep…_

 

Something hurts. No. Everything hurts.

“Dick, chum? Are you awake?” A voice that sounded like Bruce asked.

Groggily blinking open his eyes, he saw Bruce towering over him. Seeing him open his eyes, Bruce quickly slammed the button requesting for a Doctor to come in.

 

Looking around, he realised that he was no longer in the rehab centre, but the hospital.

“Why am I in the hospital?” Dick questioned, and Bruce looked away. In the same moment, Dr Leslie walked in.

“How are you feeling, Dick?” She asked.

“It hurts everywhere,” Dick replied honestly.

“Do you know why you’re in the hospital, Dick?”

Dick shook his head no.

“What’s the last thing you remember, Dick?” She asked, a hint of pity in her voice.

 

“I remember sleeping after Nurse Joey gave me some medicine to help with my pain, and then I had a nightmare. Then I woke up in the middle of the night to – oh. You guys tried to save me again.” Dick trailed off as Dr Leslie frowned.

“Dick, I need you to be honest with me. Do you want to be here?” she asked.

“Here as in the hospital or here as in now?” Dick asked with a self-deprecating tone.

“Both.”

Dick looked down at his legs for a moment, before softly replying “No. I don’t want to be here.”

Leslie gave a soft sigh, before continuing “Why not?”

“This place is a living nightmare. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is blood pooling around Mami’s face. When I open them, I see the stupid wheelchair and my stupid legs and I’m reminded that I will never walk again in my life. I will never fly again. Every time I sleep, I get nightmares of what happened playing over and over again and I don’t know what’s real and what’s not anymore and I just want my mami and tati back.” Dick said, sobbing.

 

“Oh, Dickie. Everything is going to be alright.” Bruce said, embracing Dick in a warm hug. Bruce was nice. He visited every day and tried to talk with Dick even though Dick was a dick (HA!) to him.

 

“You don’t know that. Nothing is going to be alright, because everything is wrong,” Dick said, crying into Bruce.

“I do. My parents were killed in front of me when I was your age as well. I promise you, everything will be okay again. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, or a month later, but I promise you, it will be okay.” Bruce replied softly.

 

Dick continued crying, and out of his peripheral, he saw Dr Leslie leave. Slowly, he grew tired and fell asleep.

_Outside_

“I’m going to have to hold him for a 72-hour psych hold before we can transfer him back to the rehab centre.”

“He’s just upset, Leslie”

“No Bruce, that was clearly a suicide attempt, even if he may not be able to recognise it as one, it is an attempt. Jesus, we pumped 30 pills out of his stomach! It’s amazing that he’s even alive. I mean, he’s still so young, 30 of those pills and an adult could have just as easily died, not to mention a 7-year-old!”

Bruce sighed. “What should I do then, I don’t want him to feel even more alienated than he already is. Sending him to a psych ward for suicide watch isn’t going to be good for his mental health. You saw his state. He’s confused.”

“I’ll handle that. We’ll work something out with the psych department. You need to go and find him a psychiatrist since knowing you, you won’t be pleased with just any psychiatrist from the hospital.”


	4. Moving Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set 1 month after the previous chapter  
> Also yes, I'm aware that Bruce is a little friendly and un-Brucey - but that's the beauty of the ripple effect! The fall changed Bruce Wayne in a way it didn't in other universes. He's more tactful and emoting like a person bc Dick literally just tried to kill himself so he's really really trying over here

 Chapter 4 

It was Dick’s last day in rehab, and he couldn’t wait to leave the place behind. His recovery was coming along slowly, but they had deemed him independent enough to be released from the centre and move in with Bruce. Dick still wasn’t sure how he should act around Bruce. It took some time to get used to Bruce, and Bruce was nice enough, but he still felt bad about the time when he swallowed all the medication at one go.

His therapist had asked him, how will Bruce and Barbara react if his attempt had been successful. He still couldn’t say that word. He didn’t think it was an attempt. It was just, a thing that happened.

 

Bruce had come personally to pick him up, and an old man followed closely behind.

“You ready to go, Dick?” Bruce asked, giving his ward a huge smile.

“Yeah.” Dick replied with a small smile of his own. Nick came forward and ruffled his hair “We’ll miss you, kiddo. Remember to do your exercises daily, and I don’t want to see you in here again!” he joked, beaming at Dick. Dick returned the smile and began transferring himself from the bed into the wheelchair waiting for him. It had metallic blue rims and had been custom made for him. Dick was sure Bruce paid a hefty amount for the chair, but Bruce reassured him that it wasn’t expensive. But then again, Bruce also has no sense of how money works.

Dick was about to grab his bag and place it on his laps, when the old man spoke (in a fine and polished British English) “Master Richard, if I may?”

Dick blushed and was about to tell the old man it was alright when Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke up “Dick, this is my butler, Alfred.”

Extending his hand for a handshake, Dick said “Nice to meet you, Alfred. Bruce has told me a lot about you.”

Alfred gave him a nod, before returning the gesture “Pleasure, Master Richard”

Dick squirmed a little in his chair, before he asked “could you maybe just call me Dick? I’m only called Richard when I’m in trouble”, and the adults around him laughed.

“Well of course, Master Dick. As you desire. Now, if I may?” Alfred responded, pointing to the bag.

Dick didn’t know how to respond. He felt bad that some old dude was going to carry his bag for him, but he didn’t know what Alfred’s role was, which then made him feel bad because what if he said no and the old dude doesn’t get paid his salary? So he looked at Bruce for an answer. Bruce gently gave him a small nod, and Dick turned to face Alfred.

“Okay. If it’s too heavy though, I can carry it.” Dick offered. Alfred gave him a nod, “Of course, Master Dick. I shall let you know if the bag becomes too heavy for me.”

 

“Shall we?” Bruce asked, and Dick nodded. He really just wanted to get out of this place right now. Dick started pushing himself along beside Bruce, while Alfred walked in front. Dick and Bruce had come to the agreement that Bruce would only help him if necessary, and since pushing himself is going to be a part of Dick’s normal routine now, there was no need for Bruce to offer, unless Dick requests or okays it.

 

As they reached the car, Dick’s eyes widened. He knew Bruce was rich. But damn was that car fancy. He stopped in front of it as Bruce opened the doors to passenger seat of the midnight blue Chrysler.

“I asked your physiatrist which car would be easier for you to transfer in and out of, and he told me this was the easiest one amongst other cars I owned, so I had Alfred drive this out today.” Bruce said, looking at Dick expectantly.

 

Dick gave him a tentative smile, touch by Bruce’s thoughtfulness, as he began the tedious process to transfer into Bruce’s car, careful not to scratch the shiny car with his chair. Positioning his chair properly as he’d done a million times during therapy, Dick then applied the brakes. Removing his legs from the footrests so they don’t get caught in it later, he swung himself into the car. Then, he carried his legs in one at a time, placing them neatly on the floor of the cabin. Nick was right, the car was easy to get into, probably because the height of the cabin seats was about the same level as the wheelchair, while the ceiling of the car was higher than most, making it easier to transfer in.  Beside him, Bruce began removing the cushion on the chair, then proceeded to fold it into half as he was shown, before removing the wheels on both sides and placing the items in the car boot.  

 

Then, he got in from the other side of the car while Alfred started the engines.

 

“Excited to see the manor, chum?” Bruce asked while they were on the way back.

“I guess?” Dick offered, feeling butterflies in the tummy area he can’t feel.  Bruce picked up on his nervousness, and began describing what to expect.

“Our door used to be elevated by a flight of stairs, but I had them install a side ramp for you, in the even you were entering through the main door.”

“Why do you make it sound like I will hardly enter through the main door?” Dick asked, curious.  

“Well, we have our own garage in the basement of the manor, and if you’re travelling in one of our cars, we’d usually enter through the door in the garage.”

“Oh. Right. Back in the circus we lived in trailers, they only had one entrance, and you could only get in through the stairs too.” Dick said, suddenly upset.

Sensing that he brought up a painful memory, Bruce decided to continue describing the manor to Dick to distract him.

“Well, I’ve gotten an elevator installed in 2 different parts of the house as well, so that it’s easier for you to travel around since the house is so big and it wouldn’t make sense to have just 1 single lift. There’s one right in the garage that’ll take you to the living room and the second floors’ family room and library. From the first floor, there’s another elevator near the dining room and kitchen that is connected to the third floor bedrooms and study. Your bedroom is also ready, and everything has been built with you in mind. We’ve also levelled all the common bathrooms, as well as the one in your room, so that you can access them easily. You’ll also have a walk-in closet.”

“That sound great, thanks Bruce.” Dick replied softly, feeling guilty that Bruce had to do so many renovations to his house just to accommodate to his needs.

“You don’t sound happy; did I do something wrong?” Bruce asked softly, wondering what he did wrong now.

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, Bruce. It’s just. I’m a burden to you. Why did you offer to take care of me?” Dick asked into his laps, not daring to look at Bruce.

“Oh Dickie, you’re not a burden. I felt a connection to you the day I met you, and I wanted to be there for you after what had happened, because that was what I had hoped for after my parents passed away. I wanted to be the person to show you that life can go on.” Bruce replied, giving Dick a side hug.

Dick sniffled a little “Thank you,”

Bruce gave him a smile, then asked “So, are you ready?”

Dick nodded as the car turned into the sprawling Wayne estate. As the car turned into the garage, Dick thought – if pop Haly had access to even 1/100th of Bruce Wayne’s wealth, his parents would still be around. Not knowing what to do with that intrusive thought, he compartmentalised it, locking it in a box he would never open again and tossed the keys away. His psych therapist called it memory suppression.

 

As Bruce set up his chair for him, Dick continued looking around the expansive garage and all the cars Bruce owned. Once Bruce locked the brakes of his chair for him, Dick began to transfer himself out. Moving both his legs out of the car cabin, Dick swung his body onto his wheelchair. Then, he adjusted his seating and placed his foot on the footrests before unlocking the brakes. Bruce gave him a smile, and Dick realised Alfred was already missing.

“He’s gone up to unpack your items,” Bruce the mind reader said.

“Oh. I didn’t even see him leave,”

“That’s just a part of Alfred’s magic” Bruce said, as he began leading Dick to the lift.

 


	5. Bruce is Batman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Dick is 8 years old (2 months after the previous chapter)

Chapter 5

Dick lay alone in his giant king-sized bed as tears rolled down his eyes, his fingers clenching the blankets draped over his body tightly. He had been stuck in a nightmare, forced to relive the night he fell with his parents over and over again, and every time after their bodies hit the ground, Dick would be flying with his parents again, only to fall.

 

His doctor said called it PTSD. They prescribed him a bunch of medications to take, but none of them stopped the nightmares.

Nothing did.

 

The last iteration of the dream sequence had been different. As their bodies hit the ground with a sickening crunch, Dick felt his entire body burning up. The pain was so intense that it pulled him out of the nightmare, only to pull him into another waking nightmare.

 

Even though he had no sensation or voluntary movement beneath his injury, his brain had apparently decided it was important for him to remember that the lower half of his body still existed, and Dick was simply constantly in pain. The doctor had called it Neuropathic pain. Usually, the pain would be manageable, and it would simply feel like constant tingling sensations, akin to that of pins and needles. When it got bad, he would feel like either someone was stabbing him repeatedly, or that he was burning.

 

Those were the worst.

 

And tonight, his body was on fire. His mind screamed out as the pain drove through his body. Every thought he had become muddled as the burning pain licked up his back like a scorching fire. He craved for the relief from his pain medications, but it hurt to even move.

 

He must be cursed, because they didn’t trust him with medications that he could overdose on, and they were all kept downstairs in the kitchen, in a cabinet above his reach. He’d have to wake Alfred up to take it.

 

“It’s not even real,” Dick thought to himself as he struggled to get himself into a sitting position. His wheelchair was to his left. Using his left hand to support himself, he threw his lifeless left leg towards the side of the bed, repeating the motion for his right. He cursed slightly as his right leg got caught in the pillow that was elevating his legs to keep pressure off his heels. After a few more tugs, his leg finally untangled itself from the pillow. Sighing, Dick then adjusted his body’s positioning so that he could transfer into his chair.  

However, tonight was not going as planned for him. The burning sensation in his body spiked, and down Dick went. His body hit the floor with a thump as the phantom pains continued.

 

Biting his underlip and taking in a deep breath, Dick tried to get into his chair from the floor. Moving his chair to his side, Dick locked the brakes and waited for the burning sensation to go down a little before proceeding. Then, he scooped his legs up and brought them to his chest. Using his chin to keep the positioning of both legs, Dick then pushed himself off the ground and into his chair. Once on his chair, he sat for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside as tears sprang to his eyes. God. It had hurt so much to do all that that he broke out in cold sweat.

 

Once the pain went down a little, he repositioned his legs onto the footrests and wheeled himself out to the lift while he tried to compose himself.

 

As the lift reached the first floor, he wheeled himself towards Alfred’s room, only to find that no one was there. Thinking that maybe Alfred could be in the kitchen, he pushed himself there, desperately shoving down the pain and hoping that Alfred was in the kitchen. He didn’t know how long more he could take before he fainted from the pain.

 

Wheeling into the kitchen, Dick was greeted by the disappointing darkness. The house was huge, and Dick didn’t know where else Alfred could be. Just as he was about to contemplate climbing onto the counter to reach the cabinets, a door that he never noticed before opened, and Batman and Alfred walked out.

 

Wow. Pain induced hallucinations. Jesus.

 

“Master Dick? What are you doing in the kitchen?” Alfred asked in shock.

 

Oh. Not a pain induced hallucination then.

“I- I need my pain medications” Dick stammered out, eyes still stuck on Batman, who seemed frozen as well.

 

“I’ll see you again, Alfred” Batman finally managed to say in his gruff voice and attempted to pull a disappearance when Dick spoke up, pain pushed to the back of his mind.

“Wait. Are you Bruce?”

“No. I’m Batman,” Batman replied. “I should get going,” Batman said, trying to melt into the shadows in the kitchen.

“Master Dick, your medication?” Alfred offered Dick, and in the moment Dick split his attention, Batman went missing.

“Alfred, I didn’t hallucinate that, did I?” Dick questioned.

“Hallucinate what, Master Dick?”

Sighing, Dick ate his pills and decided not to pursue. “Never mind, Alfred. Could you push me back to my room? Everything hurts,”

 

“Of course, Master Dick” Alfred replied, moving behind Dick with swift steps to bring him back to his room.

Once in Dick’s room, Alfred asked “Do you require my assistance in getting into bed, Master Dick?” Dick shook his head no and Alfred left, closing the door behind him.

Transferring himself back into bed, Dick was almost positive that Bruce was Batman. Sure, his PTSD and Depression meant that he would disassociate and hallucinate sometimes, but he was pretty sure he just saw Batman standing in their kitchen. And he was almost positive that Batman was Bruce, but he decided that could wait till tomorrow. Right now, the pain medications were taking effect and he was going to go to sleep. He’ll talk to Bruce about it tomorrow.

 

.

.

.

 

The next morning at breakfast, Dick decided to ask the question and see Bruce’s reaction.

“Bruce, are you Batman?”

“What?”

“Are you Batman, Bruce?”

“No, what gave you that idea, chum?”

 

Dick sucked a deep breath: “Well, you always come home late when Batman is out, and Batman is never out when you are home with me. Also, last night I saw Batman standing in our kitchen with Alfred last night and he was wearing a knee brace around his left knee. You’re wearing a knee brace around your left knee to because you slipped from the stairs last Wednesday and sprained it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence, but I was too tired last night to focus but are you Batman?”

Bruce looked at him with a frozen expression, before slowly replying “Oh, well, yes. I am. You’re good, Dickie.”

“That’s cool Bruce. Does this mean you can help me find the man who killed my parents?”

“You’re referring to Zucco?”

“Yes. I saw him demand protection money from Pop Haly or the circus would pay the price,” Dick paused, looking down and tightening his hand around his left leg, before continuing “and you know what happened next. Commissioner Gordon said the GCPD was on it, but it’s been nearly 3 months and he still hasn’t been caught.”

“I’ve been working on it too, kiddo. Trust me. I’ve been working on it since the day you told me about this, but Zuccos’ gone into hiding and we can’t find him.” Bruce replied sadly.

“I want to help.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows in curiosity at Dick. How was this boy going to help find a man that even the GCPD and Batman couldn’t find?

“I can help find him. I know where he is hiding.” Dick said with determination in his voice.

 


	6. Tony Zucco

Chapter 6

 

Months of research and Dick finally managed to help Batman catch Zucco. He was promptly handed over to the GCPD for processing on grounds of suspected murder.

 

The next morning at breakfast, it was all over the news. As the news played on the television in the background, Dick silently ate his cereal.

“Local mobster Zucco has been detained by GCPD on grounds of suspected murder of The Flying Graysons”

Looking up, he saw a full-blown image of Zucco beside an image of The Flying Grayson’s poster on the television, and suddenly, Dick wasn’t in Wayne Manor anymore.

 

He was standing on top of a platform under the Haly’s circus’ big top, feeling butterflies in his tummy as he got ready to prepare his first performance without a net. Seeing his cue, Dick sprinted off the platform and soared into the outstretched arms of his Tati. As his Tati grabbed him, the audiences roared in awe, and Dick awaited the next cue from his father. Grinning widely, Dick was ready to perform his midair flip when-

SNAP

The gravity-defying Graysons were betrayed by their old pal, as they fell for the last time in their lives. Dick felt his Tati hug him.

SMACK

Blood, blood everywhere. Why was there so much blood! Why can’t I move! Someone, please stop the blood flowing from my Mami’s head!

 

Dick couldn't breathe. His body was on fire. The sweet smell of candy floss and popcorn mixed in the air with the revolting scent of blood. Dick felt like he was dying. Is this what dying feels like? Someone had run up to him, and he begged, begged for them to help his parents.

Why weren't they listening to him?

.

.

.

“Dickie? Chum? Are you here? Can you hear me?”

.

.

.

“Dick? It’s Bruce. Can you hear me?”

.

.

Slowly, Dick blinked away his tear-filled vision as he saw Bruce’s face in front of him. He couldn’t breathe or speak yet, but he nodded.

“Can I touch you?”

Dick nodded again. Bruce reached forward to give Dick a hug, but Dick flinched, and Bruce wasn’t sure if he really wanted to be hugged, so he let go and instead choose to hold Dick’s hands while Dick continued hyperventilating.

 

“You’re okay, Dick. You’re safe. You’re in the kitchen in our house. Nod if you understand what I’m saying.” Bruce said calmly, hoping that his calm would infect Dick and help him to calm down as well.  Dick looked at him as he continued to try and get his breathing under control.

“You’re doing great Dick, keep breathing. You’re safe, no one can hurt you here.” Bruce reassured.

 

Once Dick calmed down, his words broke Bruce’s heart. “Whyis. This. Happening. Ttto-oo me?” Dick stumbled out through his post breakdown hiccups.

 

One visit to his psychiatrist later confirmed that he had a flashback.

 

There were a few more sessions after to learn how to cope with it. This wasn't like his normal nightmares. No. Nightmares were just endless loops of the night on repeat.

 

He had been filled with dread. He knew what was going to happen next, but he had no control over what was happening. He was there. He felt his body falling again. He could distinctly feel the sensation of falling and hitting the ground.

 

Walking and running felt so normal.

 

He could smell the circus.

 

The scent of popcorn and candy floss.

The smell of sweat from the audience sitting under the big top.

 

It was almost real. He was there.  He was sure that he was there. He had been there. Again.

 

It was weird, really. Tony Zucco hadn't been a trigger before. Not when he had been researching Tony Zucco and building up a file against him so that Batman and GCPD could take him down.

 

According to his psychiatrist, it was highly likely that Dick had repressed his emotions towards Zucco until he had been caught, which could be understood as getting his justice for what he had been put through. Now that he knew he was safe from the threat of Tony Zucco, his mind relaxed and his emotions poured through at an intensity stronger than before, somewhat like water pouring out from a dam, triggering the flashback.

 

During his therapy sessions, he worked on identifying and understanding his behavior towards the incident, and preventive methods and skills that he could use in case he was alone and had a flashback. Bruce went for some training as well s that he could learn what method he could use to talk Dick out of a Flashback.

 

They had also focused on exposure therapy, which was hell for him, and they dropped it after a while as it did not seem to help with Dick’s psyche. He ended up just completely avoiding anything that could link to that man, and his name was banned from the manor.  


	7. Justice League of America

One afternoon after returning home from school, Dick realized Bruce didn’t go to work as all his cars were parked at home. However, a quick journey through the empty house told him that Bruce was probably in the Batcave. Wondering what he could be up to, Dick rolled himself into the secret entrance in the study, before taking a lift down. Bruce had installed the lift for Dick after he realized he couldn’t keep Dick away, and it was better for Dick to do covert searches using the cave’s computer than on Dick’s laptop, which could be traced.

 

Dick was shocked to hear voices that didn’t belong to Bruce coming from the cave, and he tried to be as sneaky as possible. However, he accidentally let out a gasp when he saw Superman, and other members of the JLA all talking.

 

Superman and Wonder Woman both heard him and turned around, trying to find him. However, Dick knew he was hiding in the shadows and decided to stay there. Until Batman gave a sigh and told him to show himself.

 

“I know you’re there, Dick. Come out and stop playing Superman and Wonder Woman.”

Dick cheekily rolled out from his hiding spot with a Cheshire grin on his face.

 

“How did a child manage to get into your hideout, Bruce?” Flash asked, his eyes widening.

Dick’s eyes glinted mischievously, and he looked at Bruce instead of answering the Flash.

Giving a long-suffering sigh, Bruce began explaining to the leaguers, “Guys, meet Dick. He helps me collect information and keep a lookout for strange activities. Dick, this is the Justice League. This was a meeting until you stumbled in”

 

Wonder Woman spoke first. Walking up to Dick in all her glory, she squatted down to meet Dick at his eye-level and held out her “Nice to meet you, Dick, you can call me Diana. And if I were to guess, you’re the reason behind why Bruce has been smiling recently?”

“Hi, Diana! It’s nice to meet you too!” Dick replied in equal parts awe and excitement.

Superman was about to introduce himself when Flash appeared in front of him suddenly.

“HiI’mBarryTheFLashbutyoucancallmeBarry…Sorry, I spoke too quickly.” The Flash grinned cheekily at Dick as he saw the look of confusion plastered on Dick’s face.

“Let me say that again. Hi, I’m The Flash, but you can call me Barry.”

“Hi, Barry! Nice to meet you,”

 

Next, Superman introduced himself. He was slightly levitating in front of Dick. “Hi, I’m Superman, but my friends call me Clark,” Superman said, giving Dick a wink.

“Kent! Stop floating. You’re so dramatic” Green Lantern called from the side, making a few leaguers laugh.

 

“Hi! I’m the amazing Hal Jordan, Green Lantern” Green Lantern introduced from where he was seated, waving at Dick.

Barry quipped in “Did you say your stuff in the opposite sequence, shouldn’t it be the amazing Green Lantern, Hal Jordan?”

The leaguers started laughing again, and even Bruce cracked a smile.

 

Then, Aquaman strode over to Dick and offered his hand. “I am Arthur Curry, King of the Seven Seas and ruling monarch of Atlantis. But you can call me Aquaman.” Dick shook his hand, then did an awkward bow while introducing himself.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir”

 

Finally, Martian Manhunter floated over.

“Nice to meet you, Dick. You can call me J'onn.”

“It’s nice to meet you too! But I still have to ask. Why are all of you in the Batcave?”

 

“Our base was blown up and Batsy here is the only one who has a secret hideout that we could access!” Barry replied before he realized everyone was looking at him. “What?”

 

“That was a league secret, Barry” Aquaman said, holding his head in his hands.

 

“Yeah, so? I mean this is obviously the Bat’s kid, so I bet he’s already had some super-secret Bat training?” Barry responded.

 

Dick and Bruce both blushed when barry referred to Dick as Bruce’s kid.

 

“Nevertheless Barry, you should be careful what information you leak around people. You’re lucky this time it’s just Bruce’s kid.” Clark concluded, attempting to simmer the heat in the air.

 

“Okay, you guys clearly have stuff you need to talk about, so I’ll be upstairs, I mean, uh, I will be somewhere that is our home that is not built on top of the Batcave, duh. Okay Bye!”

Dick said, realizing his mistake and quickly making an attempt to flee.

 

“Wait. Dickie. Since you’re here, do you want to help us figure out who bombed our hideout?” Bruce asked, and the Barry, Clark and Diana “aww-ed” at the pet name.

 

“Uhhh- Only if all of you don’t mind sharing that info with me?” Dick offered, unsure of how the other leaguers felt about having a 9-year-old look into their business. None of them said no, and Clark replied, “I don’t see why not.”

 

Dick grinned and pushed himself to the computer in the Batcave and began pulling out the files, only to find that they were encrypted. He gave a pout to Bruce “Bruuuuuceeeeee, did you only offer cos you already encrypted them?”

 

Bruce grunted, “Those encryptions have never stopped you from hacking into my files, why stop now?”

 

Dick directed an even bigger grin to Bruce as he began hacking into the files. Diana laughed. “He knows how to hack into your files Bruce. I never thought I’d live to see the day you were outsmarted by a boy”

 

Bruce grunted in response, but secretly, his heart was swelling with joy. His boy was so smart indeed.

 

“So… we’re allowed to have apprentices now?” Barry asked suddenly, breaking the awkward silence while Dick went through hours of footage at18x speed.

“I don’t let him out on the field if that’s what you’re asking” Bruce replied with a frown.

“Yeup. Okay. Got It. Just pretend I never said anything” Barry said, trying to disappear behind his cup of tea.

 

J’onn was more interested in what Dick was doing. He realized the boy had been playing back the same scene on repeat for 3 times now.

“Dick, did you notice something?”

 

That caught everyone’s attention, and they all gathered around the computer console. Dick scratched his head, embarrassed.

“Well, I think I know who blew up your super-secret hideout.”

 

Dick said as his fingers flew across the keyboard. He slowed the tape to 0.5 times speed and replayed one of the recordings they retrieved from the camera surveillance.

 

After the clip ended, Hal was the first to ask, “what are we looking at?”

 

“I think your villain is Dr Light. Look. This is the only tape that caught something different from the others. If you look at this moment, there as a really quick flash of light.”

 

“I noticed that, but that could have just been anyone taking pictures” Bruce pointed out.

 

“That’s what I thought at first, but if you compare it with these 3 recordings taken from other surrounding cameras, from the direction of the light, assuming it came from a flash, no one entered or left the area. What was interesting was that the videos all contorted and wrapped around this area at the same time. I think it’s Dr Light because only he has the ability to pull off a light-based holographic image to cover what was really going on. Then, if you look at the way your hideout blew up, instead of a blast caused by explosions, which would have caused things to be on fire, there was a huge blast of light, and then everything was already charred and smoking, but there was no sign of fire.” Dick concluded.

 

Bruce hummed in thought. “That was a good observation. None of us had questioned where the fire was.”

 

“Damn, kid. You’re good” Barry praised.

“Okay, you guys figure this out on your own, I need to do homework,” Dick said, proceeding to push himself back to the Manor.

 

 

Little did he know, it was this meeting that would lead to the leaguers taking in their own apprentices respectively. Eventually, Dick would set himself up as Nightwing, the man behind the screen for not just Batman, but the entire Justice League. The fall may have broken his wings but at night, Dick would spread a new pair of wings he grew himself, looking over those he loved and protecting them.

 


	8. Donna Meets Babs

“Okay okay okay so, I told Josh that he did the math question wrongly, and he looked so angry I thought he was going to scream at me. But then he called me mean, and then he started crying during the practice!” Barbara said, telling Dick about what he’d missed during Math Olympiad practice.

 

Dick had been down with the flu and ended up being cooped in the manor for a week because his shitty immune system had apparently decided that since half of his body didn’t work, it wouldn’t either. Urgh. Leslie said he was immunocompromised, so he should be careful about falling sick as he’ll take twice as long to get better.

 

Barbara had been visiting him every day after school to bring him his homework and tell him what he’d missed during class.

 

The two laughed as Dick tried to imagine tiny Josh screaming at Barbara that she was mean.

“Well, he’s not wrong, you _Are_ mean.” Dick joked. Babs hit him on his head.

“Say that again and you’re dead to me.” And both of them laughed again, resulting in Dick coughing.

 

“Dick, Barbara? Are you both prepared for the gala later?”

 

“Oh man, is it almost time already?” Dick pouted.

 

“Well, I’m gonna go change. See you later, handsome.” Babs said, grabbing her bag and leaving to get ready.

 

“You need any help, chum,” Bruce asked, giving Dick a smile.

“Nah, I’m good. You’ll need to help me get into the electric chair later though, I still haven’t gotten a hang of it yet.” Dick replied.

 

“Sure. I’ll leave you to it” Bruce said, closing the door behind him.

 

The “electric chair” as Dick called it was not, in fact, the electric chair used for torture, but a fancy motorized wheelchair, complete with armrests and a leather backing that went up to his shoulders that Dick had to use when attending galas, as his manual chair might make his hands dirty, and ruin the cuffs of his suit. It had the additional benefit of keeping up with appearances too. But Dick hated it, he thought it torture to be stuck in the chair, with a very practical fear of it running out of battery. Plus, people always thought it was okay to just push him around when he was in it, and Dick hated being pushed around by others without them asking him for permission first. It was also more difficult to get into, and Dick had fallen a few times when trying to transfer into it. Bruce had been trying to get them to come up with a better design to no avail.

 

Inside, Dick began the long, hard process of getting ready for a gala. A dark blue fitted Dolce and Gabbana suit with embroidery and a notch lapel had been chosen by Alfred for this occasion. Placing the suit’s pants on his bed, Dick then transferred himself onto his bed. Lying down, he began removing his pants. Then, he got into a sitting position to pull the rest of his pants off. After that, he grabbed the suit’s pants and began stuffing his left leg into it, followed by his right. Lying down, he tried to pull the pants up. Due to his inability to move his legs, they always got a size or two larger for pants as perfectly fitting tapered pants would be impossible for him to get into on his own. Once he was done, he transferred himself back onto his chair and began wearing the button down and stuffing the shirt into his pants. Grabbing a belt to secure his pants, he called Bruce in to help him get into his motorized leather wheelchair.

 

Bruce squatted to Dick’s height, while Dick leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Bruce’s neck. Then, Bruce stood up, securing his arms around Dick’s waist. Then, he deposited Dick into the motorized wheelchair parked at the corner.

 

While Dick adjusted himself and placed his feet on the footrests, Bruce started knotting Dick’s tie for him. Dick bent down to reach out for his leather oxfords, which were basically still as new as they were one year ago since he didn’t walk anywhere in them. Crossing his left leg over his right, Dick began putting on the left pair, stuffing his feet into the shoe. Then, he repeated the steps for his right. Once he was done, Bruce passed him his tie and coat jacket.

 

“All good?” Dick questioned, extending his arms out in a ‘tada’ fashion for Bruce.

“Don’t forget your lap blanket,” Bruce replied, throwing the matching scarf blanket in Dick’s direction. Dick easily caught the flying blanket with one hand, before shoving it over his legs. Leslie had been very clear about keeping them warm because his body’s internal thermoregulation thingy had also stopped working. Ah, the joys of living with a spinal cord injury.  

 

“Are you dressed?” Barbara’s voice rang from outside.

“Yeah, come in!” Dick responded. Barbara took one look at Dick and began laughing.

Confused, Dick turned to Bruce for advice, only for Bruce to shrug. He was just as clueless.

“What?” Dick questioned.

 

“HAHAHAH, your hair. The event hasn’t even started, and you look like you’ve already been talking to overly affectionate old people for the entire night! HAHAHA”

Seeing Dick’s pout, she felt bad. “Here, let me help you,” Babs said as she walked forward in her kitten heels, rummaging her bag for her hair gel. Dumping her bag on his bed, she rubbed her hands, coated in gel, together. Then she began Styling Dick’s hair for him. Once she was done, she glared at Bruce.

“Are you waiting for an invite to sit down?”

Bruce, fully afraid of his son’s best friend, very quickly sat down on Dick’s bed while Barbara helped him style his hair too.

“There. All done.” She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Both sported puffy pompadours that even Alfred would approve.

 

“Let me quickly wash my hands, and then we can go down. Is my daddy here yet, Bruce?” Barbara said while walking towards Dick’s en suite.

Bruce gave Barbara a shrug while bending down to turn on Dick’s motorized wheelchair.

“He could be downstairs; I have no idea!”

 

“Well, since we’re all done, let’s go,” Barbara ordered, and the 2 men quietly followed behind. Bruce wondered when he began having a fear of gingers and silently hoped that his son will not have another red-headed friend.

 

In the kitchen, they saw commissioner Gordon having tea with Diana Prince, who bought her sister along for the event.

 

“Hi Bruce, Hi Dick, Hey Barbs” Commissioner Gordon greeted, while Diana nodded in their direction.

 

Bruce was dating Diana Prince, something everyone thought the flirtatious Bruce Wayne was incapable of doing. Then again, no one imagined him adopting a boy either.

 

Dick was excited to see Donna again, and excitedly waved “Donna! Hi!”

Donna walked over to Dick and engulfed him in a hug. “It’s been too long. Save me!” She mock whispered to Dick.

 

“Missed you too, Donna. This is Barbara, Babs for short. She’s the commissioner’s daughter. Barbara, this is Donna, Diana’s sister.” Dick introduced his 2 female friends to each other.

“Hey, hold on, you’re the same age as Babs, but if Bruce marries Diana, you’d be my AUNT!” Dick suddenly said, and Donna shot him a dirty glare.

“Say that again and you are dead to me,” Donna replied threateningly.

“She said the exact same thing to me like 30 minutes ago, both my friends want to kill me for speaking the truth, my life is so sad,” Dick pointed at Babs with a sad face.

 

Donna snorted, while Babs laughed. “Now I know why he took so long to introduce us to each other. With our powers combined, he will be enslaved by us forever!” Donna said with a huge grin, while Babs laughed even more.

 

“I agree,” Babs said with an equally wide grin of her own.

“Aw, no,” Dick said, before joining in.

 

The trio made their way to the manor’s ballroom, only to find their parents/elder sibling already there, greeting guests who were trickling in. Commissioner Gordon was there as well as Bruce was hosting the gala for a GCPD event.

“Catch up with the 2 of you later, I gotta do door duty,” Dick said, driving himself over to where Bruce was standing greeting guests.

 

After most of the guests have trickled in and Dick had done his fair share of interacting with rich people, he drove himself over to where Barbara and Donna were hiding, behind one of the curtains in the ballroom and close to where the food was. The two girls excitedly waved Dick over, pulling him into their hideout too.

“Glad to see you two having fun, I was listening to Mrs Drebun talk about her trip to the alps for the past hour, and how wonderful it was,” Dick said.

“It’s okay Dickie, we have come up with the perfect escape plan!” Babs excitedly told him.

“Sounds fun?” Dick offered.

“But first, let’s pile you up with food. Don’t move,” Donna announced, and the two girls giggled, before calming down and getting ready to enact part 1 of their plan. Barbara placed the tray she stole from a waiter on Dick’s lap. Then, both of them strode out confidently, acting as if nothing was wrong, making a beeline to where the buffet was and began piling their plates with food.

 

Once they were done, the brought the plates over to Dick and began placing the plates of food on his lap.

 

“Care to enlighten me?” Dick asked, raising a brow at the two of them.

“Shh! You’ll blow our cover!” Donna shushed while trying to figure out how many more plates of food they could get. Once the space on Dick’s laps was sufficiently filled with food, Babs said: “Okay, now we just have to sneak out of here and into your front garden, where it’s nice and cool and no one will find us.”

Dick stared at them like they had 4 heads.

“I’m not exactly inconspicuous?” He said, pointing at his wheelchair and the pile of food that sat on his lap right now.

“Nah buddy, you’re fine” Babs reassured as she piled on the last plate of food. They looked really heavy, and Dick was suddenly glad he couldn’t feel just how heavy it was.

 

“Can I push you?” Donna asked.

“Be my guest, since I’m still not sure how the two of you intend to pull this off” Dick replied. He would have done jazz hands if it wasn’t for the fact that his hands were currently holding onto the pile of food to make sure they didn’t slide off his laps.

 

Donna grinned and moved behind Dick while Barbara walked in front, the two of them basically sandwiching him in the middle. Him, and food.

 

Apparently, it was very possible to sneak past a sea of adults, even if you were in a wheelchair. As the 3 made it out of the ballroom, they started giggling.

“Okay, that actually worked!” Donna said.

“Yeah, okay, next phase. Come on!” Babs said, leading the way to the manor’s main door.

 

Quietly opening it, the trio finally made it to the manor’s sprawling garden. Pushing Dick to a spot by the fountain, the two girls plopped onto the concrete ground and started helping themselves to the food on Dick’s laps.

 

“Dick, you’re the perfect height to be our table!” Babs joked.

“Okay, but do you want to join us on the floor or are you going to just sit there,” Donna asked.

 

“I would join you both on the floor, but as you can see, I’m currently carrying very precious cargo on me,” Dick replied dryly, pointing to the food on his legs.

 

“That is a fair reason. You are excused,” Babs said, and the two girls stood up again. Donna picked up the tray of food with ease.

“Do you think Alfred would kill us if we sat on this and used it as our picnic mat?” Babs asked, pointing to Dick’s lap blanket.

“Eh. Bruce can afford it,” Dick replied, passing Babs the lap blanket to lay out on the floor.

While she laid the blanket out, Dick removed his feet from the footrests and scooched himself closer to the edge of the chair. Once Babs was done, she half squatted in front of Dick, who wrapped his arms around her neck while she carried him into a standing position, before making a 180 turn and slowly depositing him onto the ground. While Dick adjusted his leg’s positing such that they were crossed so that he could balance, Donna placed the tray of food on the wheelchair, and the two girls sat down as well.

 

Between the three of them, they did not know what happened, but apparently, they had managed to talk till daybreak, when Bruce and Diana came to find them and bring them to breakfast.

 

After the guests had left last night, the three adults were frantically looking for them, until Commissioner Gordon spotted them in the garden, and decided to let them have their fun and headed home first.  And Dick and Donna both didn’t want to think about what Diana and Bruce were doing the whole night. Nope.

 

The following day, after Barbara returned home and Donna left with Diana, Dick came down with another fever – probably from spending a night by the cold fountain when he hadn’t even recovered fully from his flu, but it was worth it. Yes, even nagging from Leslie.


	9. Roy & Wally

Captain cold, Flash’s adversary, had expanded his reach and was wreaking havoc in not just Central city, but also Star city and Gotham. Which meant that Green Arrow and Batman had to get involved as well. Captain cold’s goons have been going around, using his freeze ray to freeze fresh produce to the point that they were inedible. They had also taken to freezing medicine in pharmacies, causing a medicine shortage in all 3 cities.

 

Nightwing had managed to pinpoint where Captain Cold was going to attack next, and all 3 leaguers and their junior partners were involved. It was a laboratory in Gotham that belonged to the Wayne Tech division. Batman would meet them in the adjacent building’s rooftop, while Nightwing would coordinate efforts from the cave. Batman handed out the comm devices to Green Arrow and his junior partner, Red Arrow, as well as Flash, and his junior partner, Kid Flash.

 

“Nightwing to everyone, respond if you can hear me,” Nightwing announced over their comm link. His voice was disguised by a voice modulator so no one could figure out his identity.

 

“Copy” Batman, Flash and Green Arrow replied.

Kid flash and red arrow copied their mentors and said “copy” as well. They were both excited. This was the first time they would be working with other heroes, not to mention, in Gotham. Batman hardly invited heroes into his city!

 

“Alright, batman will give you the briefing, I’ll help keep a lookout for action. Stay safe. Nightwing out.” Nightwing said over the comm, before going silent.

 

In the cave, Dick began pulling up visuals on Wayne Tech tower, as well as the surrounding areas to keep a lookout. He wished, more than ever, to be there on that roof with Batman as well. Wouldn’t it be nice, to meet Kid Flash and Red Arrow?

 

“At least I can still see what’s going on through B’s cowl lens,” Dick muttered to himself self depreciatingly as he looked down at his own lifeless legs. Deciding that looking at them will just make him more upset than he already was, Dick decided to throw himself into the case tonight.

 

Batman’s voice faded into the background as he began scanning for suspicious activity in Gotham.  Nightwing’s workstation was the bat computer, which boasted 6 monitors and had the processing power of 10 CPUs running simultaneously. On two of the screens to his left were real-time video feedbacks from cameras Dick hacked into remotely. The top central screen was Batman’s vitals and the video streaming his cowl lens. The bottom central screen was his screen that he used to hack for data and showed feedback. The top right screen displayed what was going on in hotspots of Gotham and was flipping through each camera’s real-time feedback every 10 seconds. The bottom right screen was all the important information vital for this mission’s success, as well as the status and position of other members involved in tonight’s mission.

 

Noticing activity on one of the screens, Nightwing’s pressed a button to communicate the development “Head’s up team, one of Captain Cold’s van is arriving from the street by the left of the building. ETA 3 mins. Arrows, train on them but do not fire. Batman, find out what’s in the van.”

“Copy” came Batman’s voice over the speaker.

“Got it, Nightwing.” Green Arrow replied. From his screens, Nightwing saw GA make a signal to RA, and the two of them leapt over the building onto Wayne Tech’s directly.

“Do you need us to do anything yet, Nightwing?” Kid Flash asked.

“No, stay in position. Your position is integral in the event there’s more than one vehicle,” Nightwing said.

 

Kid flash visibly sagged and looked upset, so Nightwing decided to entertain him a little, creating a separate channel.

“Why the pouty face, KF” Nightwing asked.

“I’m bored” Kid Flash replied, pouting even more. Flash seemed to have thought that KF was talking to him because he said “Well, this is what working in a team feels like, kid. Everyone has their roles to play.” His voice travelling through the comm link.

 

KF looked at Flash, then pointed at his own comm link and mouthed “I’m talking to Nightwing.”

“Did you really have to mouth those words that slowly” Nightwing questioned. He hoped his voice modulation at least carried across his humorous tone.

“Wait, can’t everyone else hear what I’m saying?” Kid Flash asked.

“Nope, this is a separate line, just you and me,”

“Huh, that’s so wicked. Bet you’re a really cool dude,” Kid flash commented.

“My friends think I’m lame. Hold on” Nightwing said.

Patching kid Flash back into the mainline, Nightwing said

“I’m picking up another van coming over from the right side of the building, ETA 5 mins. Facial reg suggests that Captain Cold is in this van. I think they’re trying to steal something from Wayne Tech. Will just take me a moment to find out what… and got it. I think they’re after Wayne’s new medication that can slow down the progression of SMA.”

 

“Can you confirm that, Nightwing?” Batman questioned.

 

“Wayne Tech announced 3 days ago that they’ve begun developing the medication in small quantities. They’re kept in vials and can only be made by hand. The medication cannot be kept in the cold as the medication will denature. It fits Captain Cold’s recent MO. There are vials of this thing just lying around the entire lab, there’s nothing else in the lab that could have caught their attention.” Nightwing said.

 

“Green Arrow and Red Arrow, both of you should split up and take one side of the building each. Batman, get into position in Wayne Tech.”

“Copy, getting into position,” Batman said.

Red Arrow said “Copy,” and moved to the other side of the building as well.

 

“Kid Flash, can you vibrate through walls?” Nightwing asked.

 

“That’s a no,” Kid Flash replied sadly.

 

“Flash, I need you to vibrate through the side of the building and rendezvous with Batman in the lab,” Nightwing said.

 

“Copy” Flash said as he dashed off the roof.

 

“Kid Flash, I need you to stay on the roof.”

 

“Aw, is there nothing I can do?” Kid Flash asked over the comms.

“Just trust me, KF”

“Okayyy” Kid Flash said.

.

.

.

 A few minutes later, Kid Flash couldn’t help himself as he asked again “Is there anything I can do yet?”

 

“Yes. Stay on the roof.” Nightwing said. From where he was standing, he could see Red Arrow laughing at him.

Kid Flash sighed.

 

“Trust me, KF. Just stay there, please. Or you could disrupt our plans,” Nightwing reasserted.

 

“Batman, Flash, incoming at your 3”

 

“Copy that Nightwing” Flash replied. Flash and Batman got ready to deal as much damage as possible to Captain Cold and gang.

“Arrows standby as support.”

“Noted” Green Arrow replied while Red Arrow said “Copy”. Both still had their arrows aimed at the vehicles below.

 

Directing his attention to Kid Flash, Nightwing asked, “Kid Flash, how fast are you?”

“Very”

“Can you steal their tires without being noticed?”

“I would need a distraction in order to ensure they don’t notice and notify each other since I’d have to run around the building to get to the other van.”

 

“Copy that, Kid Flash. Team, standby for a distraction in 30 seconds. Arrows, use the distraction to fry their tech with emp arrows” Nightwing said, typing away furiously on his keyboard to hack into the city’s water grid.

 

After checking that there were no fire emergencies in the vicinity, Nightwing closed off a few pumps to build up pressure in the fire hydrants surrounding Wayne Enterprises.

 

“Distraction in 5, 4, 3, 2 – and boom”  

 

The 3 fire hydrants surrounding Wayne Tech exploded, and the goons left to be a lookout and getaway driver turned to look at what was going on. KF made use of the opportunity to steal all the tires of their vehicles, while the two arrows took out their cold blasting guns with emp arrows, making sure that once they depleted the energy of the devices, they were using inside, they had no more backups.

 

“Flash, watch your 6” Nightwing warned, just as someone blasted a jet of compressed cold air at Flash’s legs.

Flash fell and realized he was unable to move his legs.

“Green Arrow, Kid Flash, Flash is down, go in to provide tactical backup for Batman,” Nightwing ordered over the comm.

“Red Arrow stay where you are. We need a marksman up top.”

 

“Copy”

 

Kid Flash ran in while Green Arrow broke in through the roof of the building.

“Batman, backup coming in at your 2 and 8”

“Copy”

Green Arrow quickly dragged Flash to a corner and provided tactical backup from where he was, while Kid Flash zipped around a few goons very quickly to deplete them of oxygen.

 

Batman took out the rest, including Captain Cold. Snapping on special handcuffs made for him, Batman reached for his comm.

 

Before Batman was able to speak, Nightwing’s voice came through the comm link.

“Contacted GCPD to pick him up. Good work guys. Is Flash okay?”

 

“I think they burned and froze my legs with the cold. Feeling still hasn’t returned. I can’t stand.” Flash replied honestly.

 

“Standby the med bay, we’ll need to take a look at Flash’s legs,” Batman said.

 

“Copy that Batman. I have dispatched Batwing to pick all of you up. See you in a bit. Wing out.” Nightwing replied, fingers typing in a series of command to send Batwing to their location on autopilot.

 

Undoing his brakes, Dick wheeled himself over to the med bay and began preparing the items needed to treat Flash’s ice burn, such as blankets and towels, as well as Kevlar cutting scissors.

 

Sadly, Alfred wasn’t at home, so Dick wheeled himself up to the kitchen to retrieve hot water. Thankfully, Alfred kept his pots in a place Dick could reach. Putting a pot filled with water on the stove, he turned it to high heat. Then, he began looking for towels and other items he could use to protect his laps from the potentially hot water.

As the water started boiling, Dick turned the heat off and placed the pot of water onto his laps, which he had layered with 3 layers of towels. He hoped it was enough to protect his legs, but really, he had no idea how many layers was required before it burned his skin.

 

Carefully manoeuvring the pot of water back down into the Batcave, he saw that the Batjet was almost reaching the cave. Not wanting Bruce to worry, Dick quickly placed the pot onto a nearby Medical Examination table. Then, he wheeled himself back to the console to hide any important or sensitive information. He managed to close the last window just as the Batjet whooshed in.

 

Bruce fireman lifted Barry over to the medbay, while the rest of the group trailed behind, taking in the Batcave. Dick began soaking a few towels and blankets in the pot of hot water he brought down.

 

“Legs still feeling numb, Uncle Barry?” Dick asked with a frown as he passed the hot towels to Bruce, who had finished cutting through Barry’s flash uniform.

“A little feeling is coming back, but it’s mostly still numb,” Flash replied.

Dick passed a few energy bars over to Barry. “Maybe these will help with your healing,”

 

“Whoa, Holy Shit!” Kid Flash suddenly exclaimed, and everyone turned to look at him. Bruce narrowed his eyes. If Kid Flash was going to say one single wrong thing about Dick tonight, he was out. Barry was also worried about what Wally might say. The kid needed a filter on his mouth sometimes.

 

“That’s a huge penny!” Kid Flash pointed, suddenly realizing that somehow everyone was staring at him.

“Yep, sorry, probably not the right time to exclaim about huge pennies in the Batcave.”

Dick started laughing at that, “When is it ever? HAHAHAHA.”

Red Arrow also smiled a little, before he decided to address the elephant in the room.

“So, you’re Nightwing huh?”

“Yupps” Dick replied, as the 3 adults yet again held their breaths to see what will happen.

“Sweet. Nice working with you tonight. I’m Roy Harper.” Roy said, extending a hand to shake, which Dick promptly grabbed and returned. “Dick Grayson” Then, both of them turned to face Kid Flash.

“HiguysmynameisWallyWestI’malso…. Oh Sorry, speed talk! Too excited. My name is Wally, Hi.”

Roy and Dick both laughed, before greeting him as well.

 

“Um, are you hungry, I have more energy bars if you want them,” Dick offered to both of them.

“Yes, please I am STARVING,” Wally said dramatically, getting a laugh out of both Roy and Dick, who proceeded to throw 2 energy bars at him.

“You good, Roy?” Dick asked, and Roy shook his head, rejecting the offer.

 

“Dick, how about you bring Roy and Wally upstairs to have some cookies and tea. We’ll need some time here.” Bruce suddenly said, hinting for the 3 boys to take their leave.

 

“Sure. Um. Do you guys have any plain clothes? We can’t go up with you both in costume.” Dick asked.

 

“Yeah, I brought mine along as Batman instructed,” Roy said, while Wally shook his head no.

“Changing room’s over there, Wally hang on, I’ll grab you a shirt and a pair of sweats,” Dick said as he wheeled away.

As it turns out, Wally was very lucky that he was about the same size as Dick and the larger pairs of pants that Dick wore fit Wally perfectly.

 

While the 3 adults in the cave discussed Captain Cold’s plans and how to prevent it from happening again, the 3 boys started talking upstairs, and soon, Roy proposed the idea of having a junior justice team, comprising of junior partners of the league members, and both Wally and Dick seconded the idea.

 

The idea was proposed to their mentors before they parted, and the mentors said that they needed to think about it. And so, the seeds for the formation of a junior team was sewn into their minds.


End file.
